GOP Bill Would End California Pension Bargaining

SACRAMENTO (AP) -- Following the lead of Wisconsin's governor, a Republican state assemblyman announced legislation Tuesday intended to eliminate collective bargaining for pension benefits by California's public employees.

The bill by Assemblyman Allan Mansoor of Costa Mesa attempts to address the soaring costs of retired public employees, but has little chance in a Legislature controlled by Democrats.

Pension reform has become a hot topic in California and many other states hammered by the recession, aging populations and hangovers from generous benefits granted to public employees during better economic times.

The debate has come to a head in Wisconsin, where Republican Gov. Scott Walker has proposed stripping most non-safety public employees of most collective bargaining rights. The proposal has prompted massive protests and a walkout by Democratic lawmakers.

KCBS' Doug Sovern Reports:

"I stand with the legislators in the Midwest who are taking brave steps to stand with the citizens," Mansoor said in a telephone interview. "It's very hard to rein things in under the current process. Pensions are out of control. They have to be brought back in line with the private sector."

In California, the nation's largest pension fund, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, has $75 billion in unfunded liabilities. The state also faces nearly $52 billion in unfunded retiree health care benefits.

Mansoor's bill, AB961, contains no specific language. He said he will amend the bill later to end collective bargaining over pensions. Mansoor said the Republican Pension Reform Working Group in the Assembly plans to release details of its proposed reforms in the next few weeks.

Jim Naylor Reports for KCBS:

Two Republican state senators also announced pension reform legislation on Tuesday.

Sen. Tom Harman of Huntington Beach wants to increase reporting requirements for state and local public retirement systems. His SB689 would require public employee pension systems to file a pension disclosure report annually to the Legislature for retirees earning more than $100,000 annually.

Sen. Mimi Walters of Laguna Niguel introduced 10 pension bills, including SB520, which would put new public employees into a 401(k)-type defined contribution retirement plan.

Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, said he wants to address pension reforms once the state closes its $26.6 billion budget deficit. Republicans want pension limits as part of the budget solution.

Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said the state's public employee unions showed last year that they can respond to the fiscal crisis through bargaining. A majority negotiated pension concessions with former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"In California, collective bargaining works," Barankin said.

The bills were announced hours before labor unions planned a candlelight vigil at the California Capitol to show their support for workers in Wisconsin.

With vuvuzelas, tambourines and even Libyan flags, the motley rally drew from groups representing nurses, teachers, public servants and other organized workers.

"We are the last bastion standing up for working Americans," UC Berkeley gardener Kathryn Lybarger screamed into a microphone.

In the crowd, Lydia Phillips said she was a member of the National Union of Healthcare Workers before becoming unemployed. Though she had been expecting the type of legislation that was introduced earlier in the day, Phillips said the Republican efforts are doomed.

"This is California," she said. "We are a progressive and Democratic state, but with the tea party and everything that's happening, they look for where they can attack people most. They always go for the weak."

On Wednesday, more union members planned to travel to Wisconsin to join protesters there.

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